For many, a trip to Disney is the holiday of a lifetime, but what if you decided to spend your lifetime at Disney?
There is a select group of people for whom this idea is no fantasyland, but a reality. The Walt Disney Company has created a gated community known as Golden Oak - named after the company's California ranch. It’s the only place in the world where homeowners actually live on Disney park property.
Some 980 acres have been set aside for the company to build up to 450 homes at Lake Buena Vista – some within eyesight of the famous Cinderella Castle fireworks.
住在童話般的城堡、過著幸福快樂的日子，是許多小朋友的夢想。而對大部分的人而言，去一趟美國迪士尼是個難得的機會，更不用說要在那邊度過一輩子…
美國佛羅里達州的奧蘭多迪士尼樂園正開發房地產，在其附近的美景湖(Lake Buena Vista) 興建一個名為“金橡樹(Golden Oak)”的住宅社區，450棟豪宅，總占地980英畝，是世界上唯一一個地處迪士尼樂園內的房產。
- Fantasyland (n.) 夢幻仙境
- Acre (n.) 英畝
They own 200 acres of farmland. 他們擁有200英畝的農田。
- Set aside for‥ 預留‥
Of course, living in the vacation capital of the world doesn’t come cheap. Houses start at $1.7 million with some homes selling for more than $7million.
On top of the sale price there are extras that homeowners must pay including property taxes and annual fees as high as $12,000 to cover benefits. The perks include park passes, door-to-park transportation, extended hours for visiting attractions such as the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and a 17,000-square-foot clubhouse with a restaurant and concierge.
Residents also will have access to some of the amenities, including the spa and dining rooms at the $370 million, 444-room Four Seasons resort scheduled to open in Golden Oak next summer.
居住在該社區的居民可以享受各種優厚的待遇，例如可以欣賞迪士尼樂園中灰姑娘城堡施放的璀璨煙火、迪士尼樂園通行證、從家門到樂園的交通服務、參觀樂園中的夢幻王國(Magic Kingdom)、明日世界(Epcot)可享額外時間，並可出入占地1萬7000平方呎的俱樂部，還可使用鄰近設施，包括明年夏天開幕的四季度假旅館的水療室、餐廳等，據說這家擁有444間客房的豪華旅館，斥資3億7000萬美元打造而成。
當然如此優渥的條件，代價自然不低…房屋售價由170萬美元起跳，售價最高超過700萬美元，此外，屋主還必須支付高額的房地產稅和年費，最高一年可達1.2萬美元。
- Property tax (n.) 房地產稅；財產稅
- Perk (n.) 福利；津貼；額外補助
What perks does this job give you? 這個工作給你什麼額外補貼?
- Concierge (n.) 禮賓接待服務
- Amenity (n.) 便利設施；福利設施
This small town has all the amenities of a larger city. 這座小城鎮擁有所有大城市中的便利設施。
Sam Bergami of Milford, Connecticut, had visited Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, more than 300 times since 1976. Now, he lives there. He bought his $3.4 million Spanish-style home in January 2012. ‘I've traveled everywhere, pretty much all over Europe,’ says the 69-year-old told the Wall Street Journal. ‘I always gravitate to Disney World. It's the place where I'm most comfortable.’
Inside, the homes exude luxury but they also have been Disney-fied with some homes incorporating Mickey shaped windows or even swimming pools. Homeowners can even add ‘hidden Mickeys’ where the characters’ distinctive head and ears are integrated into door panels, railings and garden landscapes.
Some are so hard to spot that owners are given a map of all of the locations. As you might expect with a company as protective over its brand as Disney, there are just seven builders who are allowed to construct the houses in Golden Oak.
Even after paying a small fortune to own the property, builders and residents are subject to numerous restrictions. Front doors have to be solid wood. Shutters must open and close. Even gutters most be rounded and made from copper.
Gina and Paul Rice, of Warrenton, Virginia built their Tuscan-style, five-bedroom, 9,000-square-foot home, complete with fireworks viewing tower so they could see the nightly fireworks displays.
‘If there's a single image that you think of with Disney, it's those fireworks,’ says Mr. Rice, 60. ‘It's just a very cool way to remind yourself you're rolling in the belly of all this stuff.’
擔任工業設備製造商執行長的Sam Bergami，自1976年起，已造訪奧蘭多迪士尼超過300次。他於2012年1月花費340萬美元在此地買下一棟西班牙式住宅。Sam說：「我走訪過世界各地，但我最喜歡的還是迪士尼樂園，它是我認為最舒適的地方！」這位69歲的迪士尼迷，對其豪宅設計處處可見『隱藏版的米奇』，窗戶、泳池無不是米老鼠的形狀。
對其招牌極度保護的迪士尼公司，只准許七家建商在“金橡樹(Golden Oak)”建屋。即使屋主花了大把的鈔票在此定居，建商和居民都得受到迪士尼加諸的許多限制。例如房屋大門必須是實木、排水管必須是圓形且為銅制。
來自維吉尼亞州的Rice夫婦在該區建造了9000平方呎托斯卡風格的豪宅，還附有一座煙火觀賞塔樓，以便夜夜欣賞火樹銀花。60歲的Rice先生說：「當你想到迪士尼，你首先聯想的就是煙火，能每天身歷其境，真的很酷。」
- Gravitate to‥ 被‥吸引
Very sporty students tended to gravitate to others with similar interests . 酷愛體育的學生往往會因志趣相投而互相吸引。
- Exude (v.) 散發；滲出
- Incorporate (v.) 包含；合併
We've incorporated many environmentally-friendly features into the design of the building .我們在這座建築的設計中加進許多環保特點。
- Distinctive (adj.) 有特色的；特殊的
Soldiers often have distinctive insignias on their lapels . 士兵的翻領上常佩有特殊的軍階識別符號。
- Integrate into 融合‥
Immigrants are quickly integrated into the community . 移民很快就與該社區的居民融為一體。
- Subject to‥ 受‥管制
- Gutter (n.) 排水溝
- Copper (n.) 銅
Disney say the sale of their luxury homes has been extremely successful. Out of a total of approximately 100 homes, there are just a few that remain on the market.
The site won't be completely finished for a few more years. It’s not the first time the company has decided to enter the real estate market. In the 1990s it created Celebration, Florida – a 5,000 acre town with more than 4,000 homes.
迪士尼說，這些豪宅銷售非常成功，目前興建完成的100棟左右的住宅已所剩無幾。
這不是迪士尼第一次決定進入房地產市場，在1990年代中期，迪士尼也在奧蘭多樂園旁興建一座占地5000英畝、名為“慶典(Celebration) ”的住宅區。
華特迪士尼曾說：「生活就如同童話故事」！因此迪士尼趁勢在全球最大的迪士尼渡假區內，打造全球第一座“金橡樹(Golden Oak)”豪宅社區，讓喜愛迪士尼的粉絲得以一圓生活在童話樂園中的夢。
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2503363/Meet-people-love-Disney-moved-there.html#ixzz2lLZhdzvr
